Politics in the Church: Do Priests Influence the Electoral Preferences of Orthodox Believers?

Abstract

Citation: Bogachev M., Sorvin K. (2019) Politics in the Church: Do Priests Influence the Electoral Preferences of Orthodox Believers? Mir Rossii, vol. 28, no 4, pp. 68–91
(in Russian). DOI: 10.17323/1811-038X-2019-28-4-68-91

This paper clarifies whether representatives of the Orthodox clergy impact the electoral choices of believers, focusing on the case of agitation by the clergy. Empirically the study draws on a sociological survey conducted 2014–2015 via the social network “Vkontakte” among people identifying themselves as Orthodox believers (N=2,735). The study reveals that 18.4% of respondents witnessed Orthodox priests speak about political issues during religious services. 14.5% of respondents reported relying on the opinions of priests in making electoral decisions, and the intensity of church attendance was positively correlated with the incidence of such accounts. 6.6% of respondents did not report any political recommendations by priests, but in their electoral preferences they nevertheless relied on the opinion of Orthodox community members. The results allow us to conclude that religion has a non-trivial effect on the electoral preferences of believers in modern Russia. At least 21.1% of respondents could be identified as being exposed to the direct political influence of priests and Orthodox community members.